


The Art of Fixing

by Malana



Category: Hustle
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-18
Updated: 2012-12-18
Packaged: 2017-11-21 12:04:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/597552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malana/pseuds/Malana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lying low after a grift goes wrong, Ash tries to explain to Sean why he likes being a fixer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art of Fixing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [A Big Sexy Jellyfish (abigsexyjellyfish)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abigsexyjellyfish/gifts).



> Ash is my favorite character in Hustle, so I was happy to see a request for him in my Yuletide assignment. I hope that I've managed to do him justice here.

"I'm bored."

Ash didn't even glance up from his laptop screen. He had been hearing the same complaint all morning. And all of yesterday as well. He was starting to curse the fact that he had ended up in a room with Sean and not one of the others. But they'd been on the other side of the city from the rest of the group when everything had gone tits up and they'd had to go to ground. 

“Let’s play cards.”

Ash continued to type away. 

“Ash. “

“Ash! Didn’t you hear me? I said let’s play a game.”

Ash sighed, finally sparing a look towards the younger man who was sprawled on the bed across from him. . “It’s not that I didn’t hear you, Sean, it’s that I’m ignoring you with hopes that you will go away.”

“I can’t go away, that’s the whole problem. If we weren’t stuck in this crappy place lying low, I wouldn't be bored.

Ash rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Fine, I’m ignoring you in hopes that you will shut up.”

Sean grinned at him. “What do you think the chances of that are?”

“Not particularly great,” Ash admitted. “But a man can dream.”

Sean idly shuffled a deck of cards, absent-mindedly practicing some of the sleight of hand tricks that Ash had helped him perfect. Some of them Sean had been doing since he was a kid, but under Ash’s watchful eye, his skills had grown.

“I don’t see why we couldn't have all stayed together,” Sean complained.

“Why, so you could annoy four people instead of just one? Look, mate. It’s easier to hide in small numbers. Mickey and Albert think the heat will die down in a couple of days. Until then, we’re stuck with each other.”

“Then let’s play cards!”

Ash shot Sean a level stare. “Do you really want to play cards with me, Sean? Do you not remember what happened when we played Find the Lady?”

“I've learned a lot since then.”

Ash shook his head and smiled. “Not enough to play me.”

"I bet I could beat you in a straight game."

"What, no cheating?"

Sean nodded. "No cheating."

Ash blinked in confusion. "Where's the fun in that then?" 

Sean sighed and went back to his cards. 

"I just thought my days of spending time in cheap, dirty rooms and eating shitty take-a-ways were over. Lying low in the penthouse of a four-star hotel is much easier."

"All part of the ever-changing life of a grifter," Ash said with a shrug.

Sean was silent for a moment.

"Hey, Ash, can I ask you something?"

Ash snorted. "I doubt I could stop you if I tried." But he noticed the look on his teammate's face and continued, "What's on your mind?"

"Why are you a fixer?"

Ash was slightly thrown by the question. "Well, it's what I'm good at, isn't it?"

"But it's not all you're good at. You know how to plan and you can work a mark with some of the best of them. You could lead a decent team if you wanted to."

"I guess I'd rather be part of a great team then lead a decent team."

Sean waved the answer away. "But, I mean, why a fixer? It's not particularly glamorous is it?

Ash flashed a grin. "More glamorous than working the Flop."

"Ash! I'm serious." Sean protested.

"Why are you so curious about this all of the sudden?"

A defensive look crossed Sean's face. "I've just been thinking, you know? About my place in the group. I like the flashy stuff that Mickey does, but I thought maybe it'd be good to expand my skill set some more. You've taught me some, but I know there's a lot more. It's a lot of work. This last con, I don't think you slept for three days. I was just wondering what it is you get out of it? I mean, besides the piles of money."

For a moment, Ash just sat there, trying to size up exactly what sort of answer Sean was looking for. Being Fixer was just what he did. It wasn't like Ash spent that much time deep in thought about it. 

"I've always had a knack for electronics and the like. We didn't have much money when I was a kid. So, if I wanted a radio or something, I'd find one at the junk shop and fix it up. My misspent youth meant I learned the basics of lock-picking pretty young. I was the one everyone came to for phony IDs at school, because mine were better than anyone else. So, being a Fixer was something I had a good start on before even knowing what one was. 

"And it's satisfying, you know? Getting a website just right for a set-up, or beating a multi-million dollar security system."

Sean nodded. "I get that. I know I complain a lot when you had me working on that kind of stuff, but it is cool when it all comes together."

"But there's more to it than that," Ash continued. Some of the cons we run are extremely dangerous. Grifting is never completely safe. Short con or long. I don't just mean the risk of arrest either. We've picked violent marks before. Things can go wrong in a heart-beat. People can get hurt."

Ash paused, his thoughts turning to June. He could feel Sean's eye's on him, but couldn't meet the younger man's gaze. He cleared his throat and continued. 

"Your team is your family. You do everything you can to make sure that they are prepared. That they are protected. When Mickey or Albert are out there, or Emma, or you, I want to know that I've done everything I can to keep you all out of harm's way. Mickey can talk his way out of damn near anything. And you and Emma are getting better all the time. But if something happened because I dropped the ball somewhere along the line, I'd never forgive myself."

He glanced back at Sean, slightly embarrassed at the rare display of emotion he'd displayed. 

"Anyway," he said with a shrug, "I guess that's why I do it."

Sean looked more contemplative than Ash was used to seeing him. 

"You really--" Sean paused, biting his lip. "You really think of me and Emma as family too?

Again, Ash was surprised. "Of course I do. We all do. You think you two would still be around if we didn't?"

Sean looked uncomfortable "I guess I'm still not used to having anybody but her, you know?"

"Well, get used to it, mate," Ash said gruffly. "Because you've got us now. You're stuck with us." Ash averted his eyes once again. Looking for a way out of the emotional minefield that clearly neither of them were comfortable with."

"How about I show you a few new tricks?" he suggested. 

"Cards?" Sean asked hopefully.

"When I'm done with you, there won't be a man or woman alive who can beat you at poker."

"What, even Albert?"

Ash laughed. "Well, no. Not Albert, of course. Albert could sit down at a table with God and the Devil and walk away the winner without them even knowing they'd been fleeced."

Sean looked slightly disappointed. "What about Mickey, then?"

Ashed grinned. "Oh yeah. I can definitely show you how to beat Mickey."

He sat down at the foot of the bed, holding out his hands for the deck of cards. "Come on, son. Let old Three Socks show you how it's done."


End file.
